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I would like to know what Brand is the most economical without compromising quality. I know W&N are the best, but very expensive.

I have been trying D&R, Rembrandt, Miemeryblu M-Graham

What do you use???

You stand much better chances of getting an answer if you post this question in Palette Talk.
For myself, I am a DaVinci and Holbein user.... Some W&N.
I tried VanGogh for a while but found it to be muddy when mixed.

This is a difficult question to answer for I expect that most of us get stuck in a brand name rut and don't switch our brands back and forth enough to make effective comparisons. I used Da Vinci, for 2 reasons.....each tube is saturated with as much colour as W & N....but comes with a more affordable price tag.

I use M. Graham paints. I really like them. When I started painting, I bought a small set of Holbein. I do have some W&N in my collection also. Yet, I still prefer Graham over the others because of the rich color I can achieve. I would suggest to buy a couple of different brand tubes to try out. Each brand acts differently to water and paper. Also check out the website Handprint.com. It has a lot of detailed information regarding each main brand of paint. Sometimes, local art suppliers/store will let you test out different paints too.

I started out with Art Spectrum, only because the teacher at the time swore by them, I then started to use some Windsor and Newton as I preferred some of those colours. However whilst I have been on WC I have discovered M.Graham, did a lot of asking around, and researched wgere I could get them as they were not available here in Western Australia. I eventually found an outlet on the internet and ordered 22 colours that I would most likely use. Not only have I found I love the colours, economy wise they are fantastic, not only are they cheaper than to two I had been using they was also double the volume of paint in the tubes, making them even more economical. I bought myself a new palette to go with them, and coincidentally it just happened to have 22 wells, a large mixing area in the centre and a lid which can also be used as a large mixing area as well. They are Artist Quality Paints so you a compromising nothing at all.

I also use Fabriano Artistico Rough, 300 gram and 640 gram, this is my absolute favourite paper.

Whatever you use just enjoy, but for value for money the M.Graham is definitely worth investing in.

I use several different manufacturers' paints. I started off with Winsor & Newton because the 5 ml tubes are a great way to try out colors before making a huge investment. They aren't available locally so I started buying DaVinci.

They are ok but not as "creamy" as some other brands. I do love their version of Burnt Sienna though. Of course I have a lot of Daniel Smith paints, living right across the water from the manufacturing "plant". And those triad deals are hard to resist! One of my biggest pet peeves about the DS paints are that some paint batches haven't cured long enough and paint comes shooting out of these tubes that are opened for the first time, and sometimes the second and third time!

My most recent foray has been into M. Grahams, which I absolutely adore. I do find that a lot of their colors can smear when you are removing masking fluid (that was not a pleasant experience!). I'm not ready to give them up over such a triflling thing, it's just a bit more research, and planning, to do.

__________________I'll check in again as soon as I can. ____________________________________________Laura ***"Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. And dance like no one is watching." – Anonymous!*** http://www.lauradicus.com

Think best is:
1 Schmincke
2 and second is W&N
but when you use student grade top 2 is
1. Van Gogh form talens
2. Cotman form W&N (better palette than 1 but think there is more pigment in van gogh)
ps. i like also some russian watercolors but there is heared problem in lightfassness (also some pigments are very poisonius). if problem dosent exits i rank them second place in artists grade and w&n comes third. why ? price point and like some unique colors in their selection. ps. i think W&N is highly overrated.

When I started wartercolor, i was told buy the best quality of paint you can afford. I went straight to W&N, But experimenting and talking to various artists i found that they all use a mixture of different brands. For example I find that Burnt Sienna is most vibrant with Daler & Rowney, Mimeriblu colors are made from natural pigments like W&N and are less expensive but retains its permanancy and are vibrant.